, along with military legislative assistant chad and military fellow marine master gunnery sergeant michelle king. i also want to note the contributions of michael higgins, a retiring subcommittee staffer, a true professional, who has devoted 23 years of service to the committee after serving 20 years in the air force. mike has made a positive difference on behalf of service members, military families and veterans. i urge my colleagues to support the conference report and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. smith: i thank the speaker. i yield three minutes to the distinguished minority whip, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland. mr. hoyer: i thank my friend, mr. smith, the ranking member. i thank mr. mckeon for the work they've done. i want to thank my friend barney frank for the thoughtful perspective he brings to the consideration of this bill. as we struggle to get america on a fiscally sustainable path, none of us in this body or in this country ought to believe that we can save harmless defense from ov